Praedicator

Verba

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - Wednesday in the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

[2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 and Matthew 23:27-32]

For we did not act in a disorderly way among you, nor did we eat food received free from anyone. On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked, so as not to burden any of you. Not that we do not have the right. Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us. In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat. [2 Thessalonians]

St. Paul must have had an equivalent expression to the familiar one we know: "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." He was obviously dealing with a disciplinary problem in the Thessalonian community. The problem was, to put it bluntly, "loafers!" Scripture scholars have proposed two main theories as to why this had become a problem. The first is that some members of the community were taking the belief in Jesus' imminent return too literally and were giving up the ordinary task of making a living. The second is that the internal welfare system of the Christian community was creating a class of "welfare loafers" who saw no reason to "get a job" as long as they were being fed by the community. Whatever the cause (and the two may have been overlapping), St. Paul attacks the loafers. He points to his own example while he was living in their midst. The Acts of the Apostles reveals that he was a tentmaker! So, he was a member of a skilled trade, and was anxious to counter any suggestion that he was making a profit off the preaching of the gospel! (Hmmmmm.....that could raise some eyebrows in today's culture!)
If we look at the problem from our modern American social perspective, it might result in a consideration of unemployment and its impact on a community, especially a tightly-knit church community. We might try to distinguish between those who did not WANT to work and those who want to work but can't get a job! If we do this, we need to remember that the economic system of St. Paul's time was quite different. At the same time, the impact of the teaching about the return of Jesus should not be interpreted as meaning that we all should just sit down like passengers waiting for a bus! We must live day to day with an eye on the future. AMEN